MOROCCO

Morocco is not only known for dubious herbal products and Antipodean gap year students. It's real
claim to fame is being home to the gruelling Transat des Sables endurance race for landyachts, buggies, boards and all wind powered vehicles, set against a backdrop of red dunes and stony Oudes (dried outriver beds) in the far south-east near Efroude. It also provides an easy introduction to desert kiting.

Distances are relatively small, logistics easy to arrange and it's only a few hours flight from Gatwick toMarrakech or Ouarzazate via Paris. You can be shivering in British rain first thing in the morning, and by evening be bumping across a sandy plain in a Land Rover or Toyota 4x4, enjoying 30 degrees of sunshine and wondering where all the people went.

Most of the best kite venues run in a 200 mile line following the Moroccan/Algerian border from the dusty town of Foum Zguid to the touristy honey pots of Efroude and Merzouga. They can easily be accessed in a rental 4x4, or via one of the many helpful tourist agencies in Ouarzazate and Zagora who will rent you a Land Rover or Toyota complete with driver/guide and camping equipment for about £60 per day. Not bad value when you can get up to five people plus a driver in each vehicle, but before you start make sure the agency understands exactly what you want to do and how long you plan to spend in the desert .

If you are looking for more of a 'family' style outing, a cheap flight to Agadir or Marrakech combined with standard Hertz rental for 10 days can get you to more accessible areas around Merzouga and Zargora. The main roads run through big gravel plains where you can explore the fringes of the desert, without the hassles of a full expedition experience. You can have a full day'sbuggying and return to your hotel each evening, taking time out for some alternative sightseeing.

THE BEST OF MOROCCO

Lake Iriqui
Not so much a lake as a huge, dried out clay pan, maybe 35 miles long by 20 miles wide. It's about 40
miles south-east of the town of Foum Zguid. You could get there in a rental car with careful driving and a bit of pushing, so it's wiser to use a 4x4. The northern edge of the lakebed is cut up with vehicle tracks from the last time it rained which was years ago, but towards the middle it's great. The southern edge is lined by an escarpment which marks the Moroccan/Algerian Boarder, so best to keep a couple
of miles away from the base of the cliffs. There are a loads of nice places to camp tucked along the
northern edge of the lake.

Zagora Basin
South of the town of Zarora, the sealed road to Mhamid passes through several areas of hamada
(gravel plains) that stretch about 10 miles east and west either side of the road toward the hills, before the road goes up over the pass toward the village of Tagounite. This is one of the more accessible areas in Morocco to buggy and you don't need a 4x4 to get there. Watch out for power lines near the road and the occasional ditch or spiky tree, but otherwise there are few problems. Zarora has all the tourist amenities including hotels, swimming pools and campsites, so there's no need to rough it. It's also a good place to organise trips deeper into the desert – just ask at any of the bigger hotels.

Tagounite to Merzouga
Along the 170 mile desert track between Tagounite and Merzouga, next to the Algerian border, there are couple of superb venues plus areas to the north of the track worth looking at. The disadvantage is you need a 4x4 and at least a week's worth of camping kit to explore the two major venues, but it's
well worth the effort.

Oued Bou Halara N30.31.2 W04.57.6
About 35 miles long by 10-20 miles wide, this stony riverbed runs north-east to south-west. The surface is great, mainly small stones on a dust surface with a few ditches and spikey bushes to watch out for. There are a few nomad camps in the area, so most evenings are entertaining.

Er Remlia / Oued Ziz N30.42.7 W04.21.9
This area is great. There's a dried out lake bed about 2 miles by 6 miles long that is occasionally used as a landing strip. It gives a super fast ride with a small area of dunes to the north well worth exploring. An experienced buggy group could ride from Er Remila, north up into Wad Mbirika, then east toward Wad Ejdid before turning back south-west to base in a couple of days, circumnavigating Plateau Nou Haouar with a distance of over 70 miles cross-country.

Rissani to Merzouga
You will need a week to explore this area properly, but you don't need a 4x4 to get there. Just take the tarmac road from Rissani to Merzouga, get the kites, buggies or boards out at any likely looking spot and you will not be disappointed. On the northern half of the road the best venues are to the north about 15 miles from Rissani. The whole area around Merzouga is fantastic. Just pick a different point of the compass each day and head off for an adventure. For a longer trip into the desert – with a little help from of one of the many local tour operators based in Merzouga – it's just about possible to buggy round Erg Chebbi in a couple of days with a night's camping in the dunes halfway round. The area around Merzouga abounds with hotels so you don't need to camp unless you really want to. There's a fair chance you would be able to organise a trip to Er Remlia without too much hassle.